Simple, practical, and full of everyday flavour, tomato thokku recipe | thakkali thokku recipe | spicy tomato pickle recipe is a vegetarian south indian pickle made with oil, large tomato, and small ball sized tamarind in about 30 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 1 jar
  • Category: pickle
  • Cuisine: south indian

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 6 large tomato (chopped)
  • small ball sized tamarind
  • 1 tsp jaggery / gud
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp methi / fenugreek seeds
  • ½ tsp turmeric / haldi
  • 1 tbsp kashmiri red chilli powder / lal mirch powder
  • 1 tsp salt

for tempering:

  • 2 tsp oil
  • ¾ tsp mustard seeds
  • ¼ tsp hing / asafoetida
  • few curry leaves

Method

  1. firstly, saute 6 large tomatoes in 3 tbsp oil.
  2. also add a small ball sized tamarind, 1 tsp jaggery and mix well.
  3. cover and cook for 10 - 15 minutes or till the tomatoes turn mushy.
  4. mash the tomatoes slightly making sure it is cooked completely.
  5. further, add the roasted and powdered methi and mustard seeds, ½ tsp turmeirc, 1 tbsp red chilli powder and 1 tsp salt.
  6. mix well making sure the spices are combined well and oil separates.
  7. in a small kadai, heat 2 tsp oil for tempering.
  8. further, add ¾ tsp mustard seeds, ¼ tsp hing and few curry leaves.
  9. allow to splutter and pour the tempering onto the prepared tomato thokku.
  10. finally, mix well and tomato thokku / tomato pickle is ready to serve with rice, idli or dosa. or store in a airtight container and refrigerate.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.